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Page 476
him and addressed it with rather fulsome compliments to Lord Gwenwynwyn, Prince of Wales.
"It has come to our ears," the king wrote, "that a man who wrongfully seized our servant, Lady Alinor of Roselynde, and married her against our will is seeking to make trouble for you, our well-beloved and obedient subject. Ian de Vipont has conspired with his clan brother, Lord Llewelyn, to seize the castle of Clyro Hill from his own wife's castellan and pass it into hands that will make it a lance pointed into the heart of your domain. We would not wish to have any quarrel erupt between you and our son-by-marriage, Lord Llewelyn, although in this case we will absolve you of any guilt in the matter if you must defend yourself against attack. Thus, it would be well to remove this troublemaker, de Vipont, before he accomplishes his purpose. If he should die by the hand of this outraged castellan, there would be no reason why the castellan should not become your vassal. We assure you that Lady Alinor, or her next husband, would cede the keep and lands to you, especially if they are already in your hands. We would have no objections to this. We would, in fact, urge that so just a reward for your effort to keep the peace be made."
John looked off into space for a few minutes, a faint frown creasing his brows. Then a beatific smile lit his whole face, and he bent forward to write again, the quill sputtering a little in his eagerness. He had remembered something quite wonderful.
"We must warn you that no harm should come to de Vipont's squires. The one is my own half-brother's bastard, and the other is a bastard cub of Lord Llewelyn's. If the castellan should slay or have slain the boys, no mercy may be shown him. He must die! In that case, of course, it would be only reasonable that you appoint such a man to hold the keep at Clyro Hill as would best suit your purposes. Because we fear some harm may come to our kin, Geoffrey FitzWilliam, we are sending Sir Fulk de Bréauté with four hundred men to Glouces-

 
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